System and method for calibrating pulse width and delay

ABSTRACT

A system and method for calibrating a duration of a pulse or a delay. A reference clock signal includes a sequence of reference pulses, and controls a switch in a first charge pump that is configured to charge a first capacitor. Each of a sequence of test pulses controls a switch in a second charge pump that is configured to charge a second capacitor. At the end of each charging cycle, the respective capacitor voltages are compared and the duration of the test pulses is adjusted, by a feedback circuit, in a direction tending to make the capacitor voltages equal. When the capacitor voltages are equal, the ratio of the lengths of the reference pulses and test pulses equals the ratio of the capacitances, if the charge pumps deliver the same current when switched on.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/636,387, filed Jun. 28, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No.10,418,981, which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/484,846, filed Apr. 12, 2017, entitled “SYSTEM ANDMETHOD FOR CALIBRATING PULSE WIDTH AND DELAY”, the entire contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

One or more aspects of embodiments according to the present disclosurerelate to a system and method for calibrating a pulse width and/or adelay.

BACKGROUND

In various applications, delays and/or pulse widths in a circuit mayaffect performance or behavior of a circuit, and variation in delays orpulse widths as a result of temperature, supply voltage, and processvariations may result in circuit characteristics that are not reliablywithin specification for a circuit, or that result in performance thatis inferior to the performance of which the circuit is capable.

SUMMARY

Aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are directed toward asystem and method for calibrating a duration of a pulse or a delay. Areference clock signal includes a sequence of reference pulses, andcontrols a switch in a first charge pump that is configured to charge afirst capacitor. Each of a sequence of test pulses controls a switch ina second charge pump that is configured to charge a second capacitor. Atthe end of each charging cycle, the respective capacitor voltages arecompared and the duration of the test pulses is adjusted, by a feedbackcircuit, in a direction tending to make the capacitor voltages equal.When the capacitor voltages are equal, the ratio of the lengths of thereference pulses and test pulses equals the ratio of the capacitances,if the charge pumps deliver the same current when switched on.

According to an embodiment of the present invention there is provided asystem for calibrating, the system including: a first charge pump havinga control input and a current output and being configured to: receive asequence of reference pulses at the control input; and source or sink acurrent at the current output during each of the reference pulses; afirst capacitor, connected to the current output of the first chargepump and configured to be charged to a reference voltage during each ofthe reference pulses; a first pulse generator having a pulse widthcontrol input, and being configured to generate a sequence of testpulses, each of the test pulses having a duration controlled by a signalreceived at the pulse width control input; a second charge pump having acontrol input and a current output and being configured to: receive thesequence of test pulses at the control input; and source or sink acurrent at the current output during each of the test pulses; a secondcapacitor, connected to the current output of the first charge pump andconfigured to be charged to a test voltage during each of the testpulses; and a feedback circuit, connected to the pulse width controlinput of the first pulse generator, configured to adjust the duration ofthe test pulses in a direction to reduce a difference between thereference voltage and the test voltage.

In one embodiment, the system includes a reset circuit configured to:charge or discharge the first capacitor to a starting voltage before thebeginning of each of the reference pulses; and charge or discharge thesecond capacitor to the starting voltage before the beginning of each ofthe test pulses.

In one embodiment, the feedback circuit includes a differentialamplifier having a first input connected to the first capacitor and asecond input connected to the second capacitor.

In one embodiment, the feedback circuit further includes an integratorconnected to the output of the differential amplifier, and to the pulsewidth control input of the first pulse generator.

In one embodiment, the integrator includes a capacitor, and the pulsewidth control input of the first pulse generator is an analog input.

In one embodiment, the integrator includes an up-down counter, and thepulse width control input of the first pulse generator is a digitalinput.

In one embodiment, the system includes a second pulse generator, thesecond pulse generator having a pulse width control input, the feedbackcircuit being further connected to the pulse width control input of thesecond pulse generator.

In one embodiment, the second pulse generator is configured to generatea sequence of slave pulses each having a width equal to a multiple of awidth of a corresponding test pulse of the sequence of test pulses.

In one embodiment, the first pulse generator includes: a circuitconfigured to generate a delay control signal; and a first controllabledelay element configured to incur a controllable delay controlled by thedelay control signal, and the first pulse generator is configured togenerate the sequence of test pulses with each test pulse having a pulsewidth equal to a length of the controllable delay.

In one embodiment, the system includes a second controllable delayelement configured to incur a delay controlled by the delay controlsignal.

In one embodiment, the second controllable delay element is configuredto incur a delay equal to a multiple of a delay incurred by the firstcontrollable delay element.

In one embodiment, a capacitance of the first capacitor is the same as acapacitance of the second capacitor.

In one embodiment, a capacitance of one or more of the first capacitorand the second capacitor is adjustable during operation.

According to an embodiment of the present invention there is provided amethod for calibrating, the method including: charging a first capacitorto a reference voltage, with a current of a first charge pump, during areference pulse; charging a second capacitor to a test voltage with acurrent of a second charge pump, during a first test pulse; andgenerating a second test pulse, the second test pulse being shorter thanthe first test pulse, when a shorter test pulse will reduce thedifference between the test voltage and the reference voltage, and thesecond test pulse being longer than the first test pulse, when a longertest pulse will reduce the difference between the test voltage and thereference voltage.

In one embodiment, the method includes: before the beginning of thereference pulse, charging or discharging the first capacitor to astarting voltage, and before the beginning of the first test pulse,charging or discharging the second capacitor to the starting voltage.

In one embodiment, the method includes: after the end of the referencepulse and the end of the first test pulse, comparing the test voltageand the reference voltage with a differential amplifier.

In one embodiment, a capacitance of the first capacitor is the same as acapacitance of the second capacitor.

In one embodiment, a capacitance of one or more of the first capacitorand the second capacitor is adjustable during operation.

In one embodiment, the method includes generating a slave pulse having awidth equal to a multiple of a width of the second test pulse.

In one embodiment, the slave pulse has a width equal to a width of thetest pulse.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of the present disclosure willbe appreciated and understood with reference to the specification,claims, and appended drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a sub-sampling phase locked loop, accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a hybrid schematic block diagram of a circuit for generatingpulses with calibrated pulse widths, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a timing diagram for a circuit for generating pulses withcalibrated pulse widths, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 is a hybrid schematic block diagram of a circuit for generatingclock and control signals, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 5 is a hybrid schematic block diagram of a circuit for generatingpulses with calibrated pulse widths, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a hybrid schematic block diagram of a circuit for generatingpulses with calibrated pulse widths, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 7A is a graph of two signals as a function of time, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7B is a graph of one signal as a function of time, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a hybrid schematic block diagram of a circuit for generatingpulses with calibrated pulse widths, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a hybrid schematic block diagram of a circuit for generatingpulses with calibrated pulse widths, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a hybrid schematic block diagram of a circuit for producingcalibrated delays, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;and

FIG. 11 is a hybrid schematic block diagram of a circuit for generatingpulses with calibrated pulse widths, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of exemplary embodiments of atechnique for calibrating pulse width and delay provided in accordancewith the present disclosure and is not intended to represent the onlyforms in which the present disclosure may be constructed or utilized.The description sets forth the features of the present disclosure inconnection with the illustrated embodiments. It is to be understood,however, that the same or equivalent functions and structures may beaccomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to beencompassed within the scope of the present disclosure. As denotedelsewhere herein, like element numbers are intended to indicate likeelements or features.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a sub-sampling phase locked loop, accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure. A sub-sampling phase lockedloop 100 includes a voltage controlled current source 110 followed by aswitch 120, the switch 120 being controlled by a pulser 130. The switch120 is closed only during each pulse from the pulser 130; this reducesthe effective transconductance of the voltage controlled current source110, reducing the gain of the feedback loop of the phase locked loop.The phase locked loop 100 further includes a loop filter 140, a voltagecontrolled oscillator (VCO) 150 connected to the output of the loopfilter 140, a divider 160 connected to the output of the voltagecontrolled oscillator (VCO) 150, a phase and frequency detector 170 thatreceives signals from the divider 160 and from an external referenceclock, and a charge pump 180. The gain factor of the pulser 130 may beproportional to the pulse width (i.e., the duration of the pulse) thatthe pulser 130 generates. In the absence of measures to calibrate thepulse width of the pulser 130, the pulse width may vary significantly,e.g., in the range from −17% of nominal to +19% of nominal, as a resultof temperature, supply voltage, and process variations. This variationmay result in poor performance and/or instability in the phase lockedloop 100.

FIG. 2 is a hybrid schematic block diagram of a circuit for generatingpulses with calibrated pulse widths, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. A reference clock signal 205 includes a sequence ofpulses of known or controlled widths. The reference clock signal 205controls a switch 210 within a first charge pump 215. When the switch210 is closed, the first charge pump 215 charges a first capacitor 220,having a capacitance equal to N×C_(unit), where N is a positive number(e.g., a positive integer) and C_(unit) is a unit capacitance value thatmay be related to the resolution of the process (e.g., the integratedcircuit fabrication process) used to fabricate the capacitor, or thatmay be arbitrary.

As used herein, a “charge pump” is a current source or current sink thathas a control input for enabling (i.e., turning on) or disabling (i.e.,turning off) the current source or current sink. The current source orcurrent sink may be implemented, for example, as a current mirror,having a current reference arm (including a current referencetransistor) and a mirror arm (including a mirror transistor connected tothe current reference arm by a control connection). The current throughthe current reference transistor may control the mirrored current, whichis the output current of the charge pump. The switch of the charge pumpmay be implemented as a switching transistor, connected in series withthe mirror transistor (as in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2), orconnected to the control connection and configured, when turned on, toturn off the mirror transistor (by pulling the control connection up ordown). The transistors of the current mirror and the switchingtransistor may be field effect transistors (e.g., metal oxidesemiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), e.g., in acomplementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit).

Referring to FIG. 2, the first capacitor 220 may be connected through afirst reset switch 225 to a voltage V0 (referred to herein as a“starting” voltage). Before the beginning of each pulse in the referenceclock signal 205, the first reset switch 225 may be closed, resettingthe voltage on the first capacitor 220 to V0. Before the beginning of apulse in the reference clock signal 205, the first reset switch 225 isopened. During the pulse in the reference clock signal 205, the switch210 is closed and the first charge pump 215 supplies a current Icp tothe first capacitor 220. At the end of the pulse in the reference clocksignal 205, the voltage V1 (referred to herein as the “referencevoltage”) on the first capacitor 220 is thereforeV1=(Icp×Tref)/(N×C_(unit))+V0, where Tref is the duration of the pulsein the reference clock signal 205.

In another part of the circuit, a pulse generator 227 generates a signalthat includes a sequence of pulses. The duration of the pulses generatedby the pulse generator 227 is controlled by a signal provided to a pulsewidth control input of the pulse generator 227. The pulse generatorsignal controls a switch 230 within a second charge pump 235. When theswitch 230 is closed, the second charge pump 235 charges a secondcapacitor 240, having a capacitance equal to M×C_(unit), where M is apositive number (e.g., a positive integer). The second capacitor 240 maybe connected through a second reset switch 245 to the starting voltageV0. Before the beginning of each pulse in the signal from the pulsegenerator 227, the second reset switch 245 may be closed, resetting thevoltage on the second capacitor 240 to the starting voltage V0. Thefirst reset switch 225 and the second reset switch 245 are controlled bya common reset signal 250.

Before the beginning of a pulse in the signal from the pulse generator227, the second reset switch 245 is opened. During the pulse in thesignal from the pulse generator 227, the switch 230 is closed and thesecond charge pump 235 supplies a current Icp to the second capacitor240. At the end of the pulse in the signal from the pulse generator 227,the voltage V2 (referred to herein as the “test voltage”) on the secondcapacitor 240 is therefore V2=(Icp×Tpulse)/(M×C_(unit))+V0, where Tpulseis the duration of the pulse in the signal from the pulse generator 227.When V1=V2, the duration Tpulse of the pulse in the signal from thepulse generator 227 is equal to M/N times the duration Tref of the pulsein the reference clock signal 205. Accordingly, a feedback circuit, thatadjusts the duration Tpulse of the pulses in the signal from the pulsegenerator 227 (which may be referred to herein as “test pulses”) so thatV1=V2, may be used to control the duration Tpulse of the test pulses.Such a feedback circuit may be constructed, for example, of adifferential amplifier, e.g., a comparator 255, that forms an errorsignal, that is fed back through the integrator 260, to the pulse widthcontrol input of the pulse generator 227. The output of the pulsegenerator 227 may also act as the output 265 of the circuit.

The circuit of FIG. 2 may produce pulses with widths having relativelylittle variation over temperature, supply voltage, and processvariations, in part because (i) the ratio of the respective capacitancesof the first capacitor 220 and the second capacitor 240 may vary littlewith temperature, supply voltage, and process variations and (ii) theratio of the respective currents produced by the first charge pump 215and the second charge pump 235 may also vary little with temperature,supply voltage, and process variations. Although the respective currentsof each of the first charge pump 215 and the second charge pump 235 mayvary significantly with temperature, supply voltage, and processvariations, the two currents may vary in substantially the same way, sothat the ratio of the two currents is substantially fixed. Further, thesecond charge pump 235 may include a current source that is anadditional mirror arm of the same current mirror used in the firstcharge pump 215, further reducing mechanisms by which differentialvariations could otherwise occur.

Each of the first capacitor 220 and the second capacitor 240 may be asimple, fixed capacitor, e.g., a capacitor including two parallelconductive surfaces separated by a thin insulating layer. In someembodiments, at least one of the first capacitor 220 and the secondcapacitor 240 is programmable (or “adjustable during operation”), i.e.,capable of being adjusted during operation. For example, a programmablecapacitor may be a composite capacitor including a plurality of simplecapacitors connected (e.g., in parallel) by switches (e.g., bytransistor switches). A programmable capacitor having a first terminaland a second terminal may be formed as a sequence of fixed capacitors,each having one terminal connected to the first terminal of theprogrammable capacitor and another terminal connected through atransistor switch to the second terminal of the programmable capacitor.The capacitance of the programmable capacitor is then equal to the totalof the respective capacitances of all of the simple capacitors for whichthe transistor switches are closed (i.e., conducting) (these simplecapacitors all being connected in parallel as a result of theirrespective switches being closed). In some embodiments the simplecapacitors of a programmable capacitor of this kind have respectivecapacitances each of which, except the smallest, is greater by a factorof two than the next-smaller capacitance.

FIG. 3 is a timing diagram for a circuit for generating pulses withcalibrated pulse widths, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 3 shows the timing of several of the signals in thecircuit of FIG. 2. The reference clock signal includes a sequence ofreference pulses 305, each having a duration Tref. The signal 310 fromthe pulse generator 227 includes a plurality of test pulses 315, eachhaving a width approximately equal to Tpulse. The rising edges of thereference pulses 305 and of the test pulses 315 may be synchronized tohave simultaneous rising edges, as shown, and as discussed in furtherdetail below. Before each simultaneous rising edge of a reference pulse305 and a test pulse 315, a pulse in the reset signal 250 resets boththe first capacitor 220 and the second capacitor 240 to a voltage of V0.During each of the reference pulses 305, the voltage 320 across thefirst capacitor 220 (which may be referred to as Vref) increases atconstant rate equal to Icp/(N×C_(unit)), and during each of the testpulses 315, the voltage 325 across the second capacitor 240 (which maybe referred to as Vpulse) increases at constant rate equal toIcp/(M×C_(unit)).

Each cycle of the system includes a charging phase 330 during which thefirst capacitor 220 is charged, and during part of which the secondcapacitor 240 is charged, a comparison and evaluation phase 335, and areset phase 340, during which the first reset switch 225 and the secondreset switch 245 are both closed, and each of the first capacitor 220and the second capacitor 240 is reset to the starting voltage V0. Duringthe comparison and evaluation phase 335, V1 is compared to V2, and thefeedback circuit increases the width of the test pulses 315 if V1>V2 anddecreases the width of the test pulses 315 if V1<V2. Although in thisexample the reference clock duty cycle is illustrated as being 50%, andthe test pulses are illustrated as being shorter than the referencepulses, it will be understood that in other embodiments the referenceclock duty cycle may be greater or less than 50%, and the test pulsesmay be longer than the reference pulses.

FIG. 4 is a hybrid schematic block diagram of a circuit for generatingclock and control signals, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. In some embodiments the reference clock signal 205 and thereset signal 250 are generated by the circuit of FIG. 4. An input clocksignal 405 (which may have a duty cycle different from 50%) at twice thefrequency of the reference clock signal 205 is divided by two, by adivider 410 that generates an output with a 50% duty cycle, regardlessof the duty cycle of the input clock signal. A reference pulse delayblock 420 delays the reference clock signal 205, and the delayed signalis inverted by an inverter 430 and fed to the clock input of a Dflip-flop 440. The reference clock signal 205 is also fed to the resetinput of the D flip-flop 440. As a result, the rising edge of each ofthe pulses in the reset signal 250 follows a falling edge of thereference clock signal 205 by the amount of delay incurred by thecombination of the reference pulse delay block 420 and the inverter 430.The circuit may also be used to produce a comparator clock signal 450and a digital circuit clock signal 460, the use of which is described infurther detail below.

It will be understood that variants of the above-described embodimentsmay operate in analogous fashion. FIG. 5 is a hybrid schematic blockdiagram of a circuit for generating pulses with calibrated pulse widths,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Each of the firstcharge pump 215 and the second charge pump 235 may include a currentsink instead of a current source.

FIG. 6 is a hybrid schematic block diagram of a circuit for generatingpulses with calibrated pulse widths, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The feedback circuit may be implemented as an analogcircuit. Such a feedback circuit may be implemented by a capacitor 610loading the output of the error amplifier 620. As a result of the finiteoutput impedance of the error amplifier 620 (or an external seriesresistor that may be added), the voltage across the integrator capacitor610 increases at a rate proportional to the loop error, i.e.,proportional to the difference V1−V2. This integrated error signal isthen fed, as an analog signal, to the pulse width control input of thepulse generator 227. The pulse generator 227 may include a supplyregulator 630 connected to a voltage-controlled delay element 640, thatis configured with an exclusive OR gate 650 to generate a pulse,immediately following each rising edge in the reference clock signal205, the pulse having a width equal to the amount of delay incurred inthe voltage-controlled delay element 640. A sample and hold function maybe provided for each of the reference voltage and the test voltage bysampling switches 660 and first and second sampling capacitors 670 and675 respectively that have capacitances in the same ratio as the firstand second capacitors 220 and 240 respectively.

FIG. 7A is a graph of two signals as a function of time, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7A shows the behavior, in asimulation of the circuit of FIG. 6, of the voltage (shown in a firstcurve 710) at the output of the error amplifier 620, and of the voltage(shown in a second curve 720) at the output of the supply regulator 630.

FIG. 7B is a graph of one signal as a function of time, according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7B shows, for the samesimulation, the pulse width as a function of time. It can be seen thatthe pulse width converges, after a startup transient, to a steady statevalue, which, in this simulation, is 1 ns.

FIG. 8 is a hybrid schematic block diagram of a circuit for generatingpulses with calibrated pulse widths, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The feedback circuit may be implemented as a digitalcircuit. Such a feedback circuit may be implemented by an accumulator810, that may be a synchronous up-down counter that increments by onecount when its input is binary 1 (e.g., a positive voltage, receivedfrom the comparator 255) and decrements when its input is binary 0(e.g., a negative voltage, received from the comparator 255). Thecomparator 255 is a clocked comparator, the clock input of which is fedby a signal such as the comparator clock signal 450 (FIGS. 3 and 4) thathas an edge (e.g., a rising edge) that triggers the comparator 255within the comparison and evaluation phase 335. The other synchronouslogic of the circuit (such as the accumulator 810) may be clocked by thedigital circuit clock signal 460 (FIGS. 3 and 4). The pulse widthcontrol input of the pulse generator 227 is a digital input (e.g., aparallel digital input) which is connected, in the pulse generator 227,to a digitally controlled supply regulator 820, which, as in theembodiment of FIG. 6, controls the delay of a voltage-controlled delayelement 640, thereby controlling the widths of the test pulses producedby the pulse generator 227. In this embodiment, the digitally controlledsupply regulator 820 may include a digital to analog converter. In adigital circuit such as that of FIG. 8, it may be possible to shut downmost or all of the circuit components except the pulse generator 227(which includes the supply regulator 820) once the loop has settled,preserving the final value of the setting of the digitally controlledsupply regulator 820 in a suitable register (e.g., a register in thedigitally controlled supply regulator 820, or in the accumulator 810, bydisabling the clock input of the accumulator). The system may remain inthis low-power state until system power is cycled or the system isotherwise reset, or until the temperature changes by more than athreshold amount.

FIG. 9 is a hybrid schematic block diagram of a circuit for generatingpulses with calibrated pulse widths, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The pulse generator 227 may act as a master pulsegenerator, and a slave pulse generator 910 may receive the same controlsignal (e.g., the same analog or digital control signal) and accordinglymay generate a sequence of pulses of substantially the same width asthose generated by the master pulse generator 227. In some embodiments,the slave pulse generator 910 generates pulses of a width that isdifferent from (and proportional to) those generated by the master pulsegenerator 227. This may be the case, for example, if the delay incurredin a voltage-controlled delay element in the slave pulse generator 910differs, at the same control voltage, from that of thevoltage-controlled delay element in the master pulse generator 227. Thismay, in turn, be the case if each of the respective voltage-controlleddelay element consists of either (i) a single voltage-controlled delaycomponent or (ii) a cascade of one or more of the samevoltage-controlled delay components, with the number of cascadedvoltage-controlled delay components in the slave pulse generator 910being different (e.g., greater than or less than) the number of cascadedvoltage-controlled delay components in the master pulse generator 227.

The use of a slave pulse generator 910 may also make it possible toadjust the pulse width dynamically, at the output of the slave pulsegenerator 910, without the delay in response that may occur if thedynamic change is made by changing the value of the first capacitor 220or of the second capacitor 240. For example, the number of cascadedvoltage-controlled delay components in the slave pulse generator 910 maybe changed dynamically by opening or closing a switch (e.g., atransistor switch) connected between the output of a firstvoltage-controlled delay component in the cascade and the input of asecond voltage-controlled delay component in the cascade, there beingone or more intervening voltage-controlled delay components between thefirst voltage-controlled delay component and the secondvoltage-controlled delay component, the closing of the switch having theeffect of bypassing the intervening voltage-controlled delay componentsand shortening the total delay accordingly. In such an embodiment, theprogrammability of the delay element in the slave pulse generator 910may make it possible to provide, for example, a programmable 1×, 2×, or3× pulse width relative to the master pulse generator 227.

FIG. 10 is a hybrid schematic block diagram of a circuit for producingcalibrated delays, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.The circuit of FIG. 6 may be modified to provide one or more calibrateddelay cells 1010. Each of the calibrated delay cells 1010 is a slaveunit, including a supply regulator 1020 that receives the same controlsignal that is fed to the pulse width control input of the pulsegenerator 227, and a voltage-controlled delay element 1030. Accordingly,each of the slave delay elements may incur the same delay as thevoltage-controlled delay element in the pulse generator 227, or, in amanner analogous to that of the embodiment of FIG. 9, a greater orsmaller delay, if the delay element of the calibrated delay cells 1010is constructed to be different from that of the pulse generator 227.

FIG. 11 is a hybrid schematic block diagram of a circuit for generatingpulses with calibrated pulse widths, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The present circuit may produce a calibrated pulsewidth or delay that is initialized at startup. During operation, ahigher supply voltage from the supply regulator may generally result ina shorter pulse from the pulse generator 227, and a lower supply voltagefrom the supply regulator may result in a longer pulse from the pulsegenerator 227. However, when the supply from the supply regulator isbelow a minimum operating voltage, the pulse generator 227 may generateno pulses, which may be equivalent, with respect to the operation of theremainder of the circuit, to generating pulses with zero pulse width. Assuch, if at startup the supply voltage from the supply regulator issufficiently low that no pulses are generated, the feedback circuit mayfurther lower the supply voltage from the supply regulator, in order toincrease the pulse width, and the loop may transition to an inoperativestate in which the voltage from the supply regulator remains at thelowest achievable value. To avoid this result, the node at the output ofthe comparator 255 or of the error amplifier 620 (FIG. 6) may be pulledup (e.g., by a switch 1110, e.g., a transistor having an on resistancecomparable to or smaller than the output impedance of the comparator 255or of the error amplifier 620), at startup, to a relatively highvoltage.

Circuits of embodiments of the present disclosure may be constructed inan integrated circuit, e.g., in a complementary metal oxidesemiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuit. The unit capacitance value maybe about 45 femtoFarads (fF), and the transistors may be MOSFETs.

In view of the foregoing, some embodiments provide a system and methodfor calibrating a duration of a pulse or a delay. A reference clocksignal includes a sequence of reference pulses, and controls a switch ina first charge pump that is configured to charge a first capacitor. Eachof a sequence of test pulses controls a switch in a second charge pumpthat is configured to charge a second capacitor. At the end of eachcharging cycle, the respective capacitor voltages are compared and theduration of the test pulses is adjusted, by a feedback circuit, in adirection tending to make the capacitor voltages equal. When thecapacitor voltages are equal, the ratio of the lengths of the referencepulses and test pulses equals the ratio of the capacitances, if thecharge pumps deliver the same current when switched on.

It will be understood that, although the terms “first”, “second”,“third”, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements,components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components,regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms.These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region,layer or section from another element, component, region, layer orsection. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or sectiondiscussed below could be termed a second element, component, region,layer or section, without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “under”,“above”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease ofdescription to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will beunderstood that such spatially relative terms are intended to encompassdifferent orientations of the device in use or in operation, in additionto the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the devicein the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or“beneath” or “under” other elements or features would then be oriented“above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example terms “below”and “under” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. Thedevice may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at otherorientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein shouldbe interpreted accordingly. In addition, it will also be understood thatwhen a layer is referred to as being “between” two layers, it can be theonly layer between the two layers, or one or more intervening layers mayalso be present.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the presentdisclosure. As used herein, the terms “substantially,” “about,” andsimilar terms are used as terms of approximation and not as terms ofdegree, and are intended to account for the inherent deviations inmeasured or calculated values that would be recognized by those ofordinary skill in the art. As used herein, the term “major component”refers to a component that is present in a composition, polymer, orproduct in an amount greater than an amount of any other singlecomponent in the composition or product. In contrast, the term “primarycomponent” refers to a component that makes up at least 50% by weight ormore of the composition, polymer, or product. As used herein, the term“major portion”, when applied to a plurality of items, means at leasthalf of the items.

As used herein, the singular forms “a” and “an” are intended to includethe plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising”, when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or”includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associatedlisted items. Expressions such as “at least one of,” when preceding alist of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modifythe individual elements of the list. Further, the use of “may” whendescribing embodiments of the present concept refers to “one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure”. Also, the term “exemplary” isintended to refer to an example or illustration. As used herein, theterms “use,” “using,” and “used” may be considered synonymous with theterms “utilize,” “utilizing,” and “utilized,” respectively.

It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to asbeing “on”, “connected to”, “coupled to”, or “adjacent to” anotherelement or layer, it may be directly on, connected to, coupled to, oradjacent to the other element or layer, or one or more interveningelements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element or layeris referred to as being “directly on”, “directly connected to”,“directly coupled to”, or “immediately adjacent to” another element orlayer, there are no intervening elements or layers present.

Any numerical range recited herein is intended to include all sub-rangesof the same numerical precision subsumed within the recited range. Forexample, a range of “1.0 to 10.0” is intended to include all subrangesbetween (and including) the recited minimum value of 1.0 and the recitedmaximum value of 10.0, that is, having a minimum value equal to orgreater than 1.0 and a maximum value equal to or less than 10.0, suchas, for example, 2.4 to 7.6. Any maximum numerical limitation recitedherein is intended to include all lower numerical limitations subsumedtherein and any minimum numerical limitation recited in thisspecification is intended to include all higher numerical limitationssubsumed therein.

Although exemplary embodiments of a technique for calibrating pulsewidth and delay have been specifically described and illustrated herein,many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled inthe art. Accordingly, it is to be understood that a technique forcalibrating pulse width and delay constructed according to principles ofthe present disclosure may be embodied other than as specificallydescribed herein. The present disclosure is also defined in thefollowing claims, and equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for calibrating, the system comprising:a first charge pump having a control input and a current output andbeing configured to receive a sequence of reference pulses at thecontrol input; a first pulse generator having a pulse width controlinput, and being configured to generate a sequence of test pulses, eachof the test pulses having a duration controlled by a signal received atthe pulse width control input; and a feedback circuit, connected to thepulse width control input of the first pulse generator, configured toadjust, based on a test voltage and on a reference voltage, the durationof the test pulses in a direction to reduce a difference between thereference voltage and the test voltage, the test voltage being based onthe test pulses.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first charge pumpis further configured to source or sink a current at the current outputduring each of the reference pulses.
 3. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising: a first capacitor, connected to the current output of thefirst charge pump and configured to be charged to the reference voltageduring each of the reference pulses; a second charge pump having acontrol input and a current output and being configured to: receive thesequence of test pulses at the control input; and source or sink acurrent at the current output during each of the test pulses; a secondcapacitor, connected to the current output of the second charge pump andconfigured to be charged to the test voltage during each of the testpulses; and a reset circuit configured to: charge or discharge the firstcapacitor to a starting voltage before beginning of each of thereference pulses; and charge or discharge the second capacitor to thestarting voltage before beginning of each of the test pulses.
 4. Thesystem of claim 3, wherein a capacitance of the first capacitor is thesame as a capacitance of the second capacitor, and wherein a capacitanceof one or more of the first capacitor and the second capacitor isadjustable during operation.
 5. The system of claim 3, wherein thefeedback circuit comprises a differential amplifier having a first inputconnected to the first capacitor and a second input connected to thesecond capacitor, wherein the feedback circuit further comprises anintegrator connected to an output of the differential amplifier, and tothe pulse width control input of the first pulse generator.
 6. Thesystem of claim 5, wherein the integrator comprises a capacitor, and thepulse width control input of the first pulse generator is an analoginput, wherein the integrator further comprises an up-down counter, andthe pulse width control input of the first pulse generator is a digitalinput.
 7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a second pulsegenerator, the second pulse generator having a pulse width controlinput, the feedback circuit being further connected to the pulse widthcontrol input of the second pulse generator, wherein the second pulsegenerator is configured to generate a sequence of slave pulses eachhaving a width equal to a multiple of a width of a corresponding testpulse of the sequence of test pulses.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein:the first pulse generator comprises: a circuit configured to generate adelay control signal; and a first controllable delay element configuredto incur a controllable delay controlled by the delay control signal,and the first pulse generator is configured to generate the sequence oftest pulses with each test pulse having a pulse width equal to a lengthof the controllable delay.
 9. The system of claim 8, further comprisinga second controllable delay element configured to incur a delaycontrolled by the delay control signal, wherein the second controllabledelay element is configured to incur a delay equal to a multiple of adelay incurred by the first controllable delay element.
 10. A method forcalibrating, the method comprising: charging a first capacitor to areference voltage, with a current of a first charge pump, during areference pulse; and generating a second test pulse, based on a testvoltage during a first test pulse and on the reference voltage, whereinthe second test pulse being shorter or longer than the first test pulsebased on a shorter test pulse or a longer test pulse reducing adifference between the test voltage and the reference voltage.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, further comprising: charging a second capacitor tothe test voltage with a current of a second charge pump, during thefirst test pulse; and before beginning of the reference pulse, chargingor discharging the first capacitor to a starting voltage, beforebeginning of the first test pulse, charging or discharging the secondcapacitor to the starting voltage, and after end of the reference pulseand end of the first test pulse, comparing the test voltage and thereference voltage with a differential amplifier.
 12. The method of claim11, wherein a capacitance of the first capacitor is the same as acapacitance of the second capacitor and wherein a capacitance of one ormore of the first capacitor and the second capacitor is adjustableduring operation.
 13. The method of claim 10, further comprisinggenerating a slave pulse having a width equal to a multiple of a widthof the second test pulse, wherein the slave pulse has a width equal to awidth of the second test pulse.
 14. A system for calibrating, the systemcomprising: a first charge pump configured to receive a sequence ofreference pulses; a first capacitor connected to the first charge pumpand configured to be charged to a reference voltage during each of thereference pulses; a first pulse generator configured to generate asequence of test pulses; a second pulse generator configured to generatea sequence of slave pulses each having a width equal to a multiple of awidth of a corresponding test pulse of the sequence of test pulses; anda feedback circuit, connected between the first capacitor and the firstpulse generator, configured to adjust, a duration of the test pulses ina direction to reduce a difference between the reference voltage and atest voltage, the test voltage being based on the test pulses, whereinthe feedback circuit is further connected to the second pulse generator.15. The system of claim 14, wherein the first charge pump comprising acontrol input and a current output and configured to source or sink acurrent at the current output during each of the reference pulses. 16.The system of claim 14, further comprising: a second charge pump havinga control input and a current output and being configured to: receivethe sequence of test pulses at the control input; and source or sink acurrent at the current output during each of the test pulses; a secondcapacitor, connected to the current output of the second charge pump andconfigured to be charged to the test voltage during each of the testpulses; and a reset circuit configured to: charge or discharge the firstcapacitor to a starting voltage before beginning of each of thereference pulses; and charge or discharge the second capacitor to thestarting voltage before beginning of each of the test pulses.
 17. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein the feedback circuit comprises adifferential amplifier having a first input connected to the firstcapacitor and a second input connected to the second capacitor, whereinthe feedback circuit further comprises an integrator connected to anoutput of the differential amplifier, and to a pulse width control inputof the first pulse generator.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein theintegrator comprises a capacitor, and the pulse width control input ofthe first pulse generator is an analog input, wherein the integratorfurther comprises an up-down counter, and the pulse width control inputof the first pulse generator is a digital input.
 19. The system of claim14, wherein: the first pulse generator comprises: a circuit configuredto generate a delay control signal; and a first controllable delayelement configured to incur a controllable delay controlled by the delaycontrol signal, and the first pulse generator is configured to generatethe sequence of test pulses with each test pulse having a pulse widthequal to a length of the controllable delay.
 20. The system of claim 19,further comprising a second controllable delay element configured toincur a delay controlled by the delay control signal, wherein the secondcontrollable delay element is configured to incur a delay equal to amultiple of a delay incurred by the first controllable delay element.